Alexander "Sandy" Mullin likes to brag that his company has saved more trees than the Sierra Club. That's a bold statement for anyone to make. That's a really bold statement when you're in the saw business.

"We don't go out and hug the trees," says Mullin, the president of Raleigh-based Barr-Mullin Inc. "But we want to help people get the most value out of the trees that do get cut down."

Barr-Mullin develops, manufactures and sells high-production computerized saws and automatic lumber scanning systems to the world's solid wood products industry. The business generates $4.5 million in revenue each year.

It doesn't have to be business vs. the environment, like many people think. Innovation can provide non-zero sum outcomes that benefit everybody.